"Land! land on the starboard-bow!" was shouted from the foretopmast
cross-trees, where several of our men had been, in spite of a pretty hot
scorching sun, since dawn, on the look-out for it.
"Who saw it first?" asked the captain, who was always more anxious when
nearing the coast than at any other time.
"Tom Tillson," was the answer from aloft.
"A glass of grog for you, Tom, if it proves to be the land, and you have
kept your eyes open to good purpose!" said the captain, preparing
himself to go to the mast-head, where the mates followed him.
They were satisfied that Tom had fairly won his glass of grog, I
suppose; for, after some time, when I went aloft, I saw a high
blue-pointed mountain rising out of the sparkling sea with ranges of
lower hills beneath it.
As we drew in with the shore, we could distinguish the fields of
sugar-cane surrounded by lime-trees, and the white houses of the
planters, and the huts of the negroes; and I thought that I should very
much like to take a run among the lofty palmetto and the wild
cotton-trees and the fig-trees, and to chase the frolicsome monkeys I
had heard spoken of among their branches. A light silvery mist hung
over the whole scene, and made it look doubly beautiful. I asked Peter
what land it was, for I thought that we had arrived at America itself.
He laughed, and said that it was only a little island called Saint
Christopher's; and that he'd heard say that it was first discovered by
the great admiral who had found out America, and that he had called it
after his own name. Peter, though he could not read, had a great store
of information, which he had picked up from various people. He was not
always quite correct; and that was from not being able to read, as he
was less able to judge of the truth of what people told him; but
altogether, I learned a great deal from his conversation.
We came to an anchor before the town of Basseterre, the capital of the
island. It was a clean handsome-looking place, and a number of ships
lay before it; while behind it, rising from the wide valley, richly
cultivated and beautiful in the extreme, rose the lofty and precipitous
crags of Mount Misery, 3700 feet high. It may well be so-called, for it
would be pain and misery to have to climb up it, and still greater not
to be able to come down again!
After the events I have before described, we had come south till we fell
in with the trade-winds, which had brought us on a due westerly course
to this place. I did not go on shore; but I heard the captain say that
the merchants and planters were very civil and polite to him. They had,
however, suffered very much in the late war with France. It was in the
year 1782 that a French general, the Marquis de Bouille, having eight
thousand men with him, besides a fleet of twenty-nine sail of the line,
commanded by the Admiral Count de Grasse, captured the island from the
English. It was, however, restored to Great Britain when the war ended
the following year.
We had a quantity of fruit brought off to us, which did most of us a
great deal of good, after living so long on salt provisions. I remember
how delicious I thought the shaddock--which is a fruit something like a
very large orange. Its outer coat is pale, like a lemon, but very
thick. It is divided into quarters by a thin skin, like an orange; and
the taste--which is very refreshing--is between a sweet and an acid.
The colour of the inside of some is a pale red--these are the best;
others are white inside. Peter told me that he had heard that the tree
was brought from the coast of Guinea by a Captain Shaddock, and that the
fruit has ever since borne his name.
We spent three or four days at anchor before this beautiful place; and
then, having landed two or three of our passengers, and put Walter
Stenning on board a vessel returning to England, once more made sail for
our destination. The trade-wind still favoured us, though it was much
lighter than it had been before we entered the Caribbean Sea.
"Jack," said Peter to me the afternoon we left Basseterre, "I've good
news for you. The captain wants a lad in the place of Sam Dermot, whom
he has left on board a homeward-bound ship, for he found that he was not
fit for a sea-life, and Mr Gale has been speaking a word in your
favour. I don't say it's likely to prove as pleasant a life as you lead
forward, but if you do your duty and please him, the captain has the
power to advance your interests--and I think he is the man to do it."
This was good news, I thought; and soon afterwards Mr Gale told me to
go into the cabin. The captain, who was looking over some papers,
scarcely raised his head as I entered. "Oh, Jack Williams--is that your
name, boy?" said he. "You are to help Roach, the steward. Go to him;
he'll show you what you are to do." The steward soon gave me plenty of
work cleaning up things; for the captain was a very particular man, and
would always have everything in the best possible order.
The next morning at daybreak, Mr Gale--whose watch it was at the time--
roused me up, and sent me to tell the captain that there was a strange
sail on the starboard-bow, which seemed inclined to cross our fore-foot.
The captain was soon on deck and examining the stranger with his glass.
"Well, what do you make of her, Mr Gale?" he asked. She was a low,
little vessel, with considerable beam, and a large lateen mainsail, and
a jib on a little cock-up bowsprit--something like a 'Mudian rig.
"She's a suspicious-looking craft; and if it were not that we are
well-armed, and could sink her with a broadside, I should not much like
her neighbourhood, sir," answered the second mate. As he spoke, a gun
was fired by the stranger, but not at us.
"He wants to speak us, at all events," observed Captain Helfrich. "If
he had intended us mischief he would have fired at us, I should think."
"Not quite so certain of that, sir," answered Mr Jones, the first mate.
"Those pirating fellows are up to all sorts of tricks; and if he's
honest he belies himself, for a more roguish craft I never saw. He
doesn't show any colours, at all events."
"We'll not be taken by surprise, then," answered the captain. "Arm the
people, and see the guns all ready to run out. Boy, get my pistols and
cutlass from the steward. Tell him to show himself on deck; and let the
gentlemen in the cabin know that if they get up, they may find something
to amuse them."
I dived speedily below to deliver my message. While the steward was
getting ready the captain's arms, I ran round to the berths of the
passengers. One had heard me ask for the pistols; thus the report at
once went round among them that there was fighting in prospect. In a
few minutes, therefore, several gentlemen in straw-hats, with yellow
nankeen trousers and gay dressing-gowns, appeared on deck.
"What!--is that little hooker the craft we are going to fight, captain?"
exclaimed one of them. "We shouldn't have much difficulty in trouncing
her, I should think."
"Not the slightest, sir, if we have the chance," he answered. "But her
crew would have no difficulty either in cutting all our throats, if we
once let them get on board! The chances are that she has a hundred
desperadoes or more under hatches, and as she can sail round us like a
witch, they may choose their own time for coming alongside. I tell you,
gentlemen, I would rather she were a hundred miles away than where she
is!"
These remarks of the captain very much altered the manner of some of the
gentlemen. They were all ready enough to fight, but they put on much
more serious countenances than they had at first worn, and kept eyeing
the stranger curiously through their telescopes. Still the stranger
kept bowling away before us on our starboard-bow, yawing about so as not
greatly to increase his distance from us. If he could thus outsail us
before the wind, he would be very certain to beat us hollow on a wind.
We had, therefore, not the slightest prospect of being able to get away
from him so long as he chose to keep us company. Suddenly he luffed up
with his head to the northward.
"He thinks that he had better not play us any tricks; he has found out
that we are too strong for him," observed Mr Jones. Scarcely had the
mate spoken, when a dozen men or so appeared on the deck of the felucca,
and launched a boat from it into the water. As soon as she was afloat,
two people stepped into her. One seized the oars, and the other seated
himself in the stern-sheets.
"Well, that is a rum-looking little figure!" I heard one of our
passengers exclaim, bursting into a fit of laughter. "I wonder if he is
skipper of that craft?"
"She's not a craft that will stand much joking," observed the first
mate. "See, sir; she has begun to show that she is not lightly armed."
He pointed to the deck of the felucca, on which there now appeared at
least full thirty men. They looked like a fierce set of desperadoes.
They were of all colours, from the fair skin of the Saxon to the ebony
hue of some of the people of Africa. The captain saw, I suppose, that
there was no use in trying to prevent the boat from coming alongside;
for had he done so, the felucca would very quickly have been after us
again, and might not another time have treated us so civilly. He
therefore, as soon as the boat shoved off from the side of the felucca,
ordered the sails to be clewed up, to allow her more easily to approach.
As she pulled towards us, we were able to examine the people in her. He
who sat in the stern-sheets was a little old man, with a little
three-cornered hat on his head, and a blue long-skirted coat and
waistcoat, richly laced. He had on also, I afterwards saw,
knee-breeches, and huge silver buckles to his shoes. His countenance
seemed wizened and dried up like a piece of parchment. Some of the
younger passengers especially seemed to think him, by their remarks, a
fair subject for their ridicule. The person who pulled was a huge
negro. He must have been as tall as Peter Poplar, but considerably
stouter and stronger of limb. He was clothed in a striped cotton dress
and straw-hat. It would have been difficult to find two people
associated together more unlike each other. The old man took the helm,
and by the way he managed the boat it was clear that he was no novice in
nautical affairs. "What can he want with us!" exclaimed the captain.
"We'll treat him with politeness, at all events!" Side-ropes and a
ladder were therefore prepared; but scarcely had the bowman's boat-hook
struck the side, than the old gentleman had handed himself up by the
main-chains on deck with the agility of a monkey, followed by the big
negro. I then saw that he had a brace of silver-mounted pistols stuck
in his belt, and that he wore a short sword by his side; but the latter
was apparently more for ornament than use. The negro also had a large
brace of pistols and a cutlass. In the boat were two iron-clamped
chests, one of them being very large, the other small.
The old gentleman singled out the captain as soon as he reached the
deck, and walked up to him. "Ah, Captain Helfrich, I am glad to have
fallen in with you!" he exclaimed, in a singularly firm and full voice,
with nothing of the tremulousness of age in it. "I've come to ask you
for a passage to Jamaica, as I prefer entering Port-Royal harbour in a
respectable steady-going craft like yours, rather than in such a small
cockle-shell as is my little pet there!" As he spoke he pointed with a
smile--and such a smile! how wrinkled and crinkled did his face become--
to the wicked-looking little felucca.
"Impossible, sir," answered the captain; "my cabins are already so
crowded that I could not accommodate another person!"
"Oh! how are the places of Mr Wilmot and Mr Noel occupied then?" asked
the stranger with a peculiar look. They were the gentlemen who landed
at Saint Kitt's!
The captain started, and looked at his visitor with a scrutinising
glance; but he remained unabashed.
"How did you learn that?" asked the captain quickly.
"Oh, there are very few things which happen in these parts the which I
don't know," answered the stranger quietly. "However, captain, even if
all your cabins are full, that excuse will not serve you. I can stow
myself away anywhere. I've been accustomed to rough it, and Cudjoe here
won't object to prick for a soft plank!" The black, hearing his name
pronounced, grinned from ear to ear, though he said nothing.
Still the captain, who evidently could not make out who his visitor was,
and much mistrusted him, was about to refuse the request, when the old
gentleman took him by the button of his coat, as a man does a familiar
friend, and led him aside. What was said I do not know, nor could I
judge from his countenance how the captain took the communication made
to him--I saw him start, and examine the old man attentively from head
to foot. The result, I know, was that the boat and the chests were
hoisted on board--the sails were let fall and sheeted home. The
stranger went to the taffrail and waved his hat. On his doing this, the
felucca hauled her wind and stood to the northward.
Just under the companion-stair was a small cabin, which had been filled
with stores. This was cleared out, and our strange passenger took
possession of it with his chests, while Cudjoe slept at the door. He at
once made himself at home, and entered into conversation with every one.
No one seemed, however, inclined to quiz him. When he was on deck, I
heard the gentlemen in the cabin wondering who he was, for none of them
had the slightest notion about the matter; and if the captain knew, he
certainly would not tell them. The negro never spoke to any of the
passengers or crew. Some said he was dumb; but I knew that was not the
case, for I often heard him and the old gentleman talking, but in a
language I could not understand. His only care appeared to be to watch
over the old gentleman's chests, which had been placed in his cabin, and
to keep an eye on the little skiff which had brought them on board.
Those of the passengers who had lived in the West Indies could do
nothing for themselves, and were constantly wanting me to perform some
little job or other for them. I was thus oftener in the cabin than out
of it. While I was attending on them, my great amusement was listening
to the yarns which the old gentleman used to spin. They took in all he
said for fact; but there used to be often a twinkle in his eye which
made me doubt the truth of all he said.
"A man who can look back the larger part of a century, as I have done,
must have heard a number of strange things, and seen a number of strange
people and strange sights, unless he has gone through the world with his
eyes and ears closed, which I have not," he remarked one day when
several of the passengers were collected in the cabin. "Gentlemen, I
have served both on shore and afloat, and have seen as many shots fired
as most people. I cannot quite recollect Admiral Benbow's action in
these seas, but I was afloat when that pretty man Edward Teach was the
terror of all quiet-going merchantmen. His parents lived at Spanish
Town, Jamaica, and were very respectable people. Some of his brothers
turned out very well; and one of them was in the king's service, in
command of a company of artillery. He, however, at an early age showed
himself to be of a somewhat wildish disposition, and rather than submit
to control, ran away to sea. For many years he knocked about, among not
the best of characters perhaps, in different parts of the world, till he
became as daring a fellow as ever stepped a plank. In a short time,
while still very young, he got together a band of youths much of his own
way of thinking; and they commenced, after the old fashion, the life of
gentlemen rovers. Their mode of proceeding was to run alongside any
merchantman they fell in with, which they thought would prove a prize
worth having. Having taken possession of everything they wanted, they
then made every landsman walk the plank, as they did likewise every
seaman who would not join them. Those only who would take their oaths,
and sign their articles, were allowed to live. Mr Teach used to dress
himself out in a wild fashion, and as he wore a great black beard, he
certainly did look very ferocious. From this circumstance he got the
name of Blackbeard. I don't fancy that he committed all the acts
imputed to him, but he did enough to gain himself a very bad name. The
governors of the West India Islands, in those days, and the American
settlements, were rather fonder of their ease than anything else, so
they allowed him to range those seas with impunity. At last, however, a
naval officer, feeling indignant that one man should hold a whole
community in awe, undertook to destroy the pirate. He got a ship fitted
out, well-armed and well-manned, and larger than any Teach was likely to
have with him. After a long search, he fell in with the pirate. Teach
had never given quarter, and it was not expected that he would take it.
More than half drunk, the pirates went to their quarters, and fought
more like demons than men. The crew of the king's ship had to fight
desperately also. For a long time it was doubtful which would come off
the conqueror. At length, however, a large number of the pirates being
killed or wounded. Teach was about to blow up his ship. Before,
however, he could get below, his ship was boarded by his enemies, and he
had to defend himself from the attack of the gallant English officer.
For a long time he fought most desperately, but at last he was brought
on his knees; and as he would not surrender, he was cut down, and died
on the spot. Scarcely a third of his men were taken alive, and they
were mostly wounded. His head was cut off and carried to Virginia,
where it was stuck on a pole; and where the greater number of the
pirates taken were hung in chains, to show to others what very likely
would be their fate if they should design to follow the same course."
"Why, you seem to know so much about the matter, I suppose you were
there, sir," said one of the passengers, intending his remark to be
jocose.
"That is possible, young 'un," answered the old gentleman, fixing his
eyes on the speaker. "Perhaps I formed part of the pirate crew; but you
don't fancy I was hung, do you?"
The young man did not venture a reply.
"I'll tell you where I saw some service," continued the old gentleman.
"The Spaniards had for a long time ruled it insultingly over the English
in these seas, fancying that, because we didn't bark, we could not bite.
At last a fleet was fitted out in England, and despatched to the West
Indies, under the command of Admiral Vernon, in 1739. He first touched
at Jamaica, where he refreshed his men, and took on board a body of
troops and some pilots, as well as provisions; and, on the 5th of
November, sailed for the Spanish town of Porto Bello, which lies on the
north side of the Isthmus of Darien. Its harbour and strong forts
afforded protection to the Guarda Costas, or Spanish cruisers, which
attempted to put a stop to the commerce of other nations in these seas;
and it was, likewise, the great rendezvous of the Spanish merchants from
various quarters. The town consisted of five or six hundred houses, and
some public buildings. The inhabitants depended almost entirely on the
fair, which was held there every two or three years, and which lasted
about six weeks. The fair took place according to the time when the
galleons arrived from Carthagena, where they first touched to dispose of
part of their goods. At Porto Bello they were met by the merchants from
Lima and Panama, who came, with millions of dollars, to purchase their
merchandise. So crowded was the place during the fair, that there was
scarcely room to stow the chests of money! The entrance of the harbour
is narrow, but widens within; and at the bottom lies the town, in the
form of a half moon. At the east end of the town is a huge stable for
the mules employed in the traffic between it and Panama. It is very
unhealthy, as on the east side there is a swamp; and in the harbour, at
low tide, a wide extent of black slimy mud is exposed, exhaling noisome
vapours. The town was defended by three forts. The Iron Fort was on
the north side of the harbour's mouth, and had a hundred guns. The
Gloria Castle was a mile from the first, on the south side of the
harbour, and had a hundred and twenty guns. And lastly, there was the
fort called Hieronymo, with twenty guns. The Spaniards having been
warned of the approach of the English squadron by a fast-sailing vessel
which escaped from them, were prepared to receive them, and hoped to
send them to the bottom at once. The fleet consisted only of the
_Burford_, commanded by the Admiral; the _Hampton Court_, Commodore
Brown; the _Norwich_, Captain Herbert; the _Worcester_, Captain Main;
the _Princess Louisa_, Captain Waterhouse; and the _Stafford_, Captain
Trevor. On the 21st they came up with the harbour. The _Hampton Court_
first entered, and came to action not a cable's length from the Iron
Fort; and in twenty-five minutes' time fired away about four hundred
shot; so that nothing was to be seen but fire and smoke. The _Norwich_
came next, the _Worcester_ next, and then the Admiral, who anchored
within half a cable's length of the castle: and though he was warmly
received, the Spaniards were soon driven from their guns. Then,
although no breach was made, the troops were landed, and the boats'
crews, climbing up through the embrasures, struck the Spanish flag and
hoisted the English colours! The other two forts capitulated next day,
and all three were completely demolished; the Spanish troops being
allowed to march out with their arms. The work was done by four ships,
for the other two had not come up; and its history serves to show what
men can do, if they are not afraid of the consequences. The same
spirit, in a juster cause, animated Vernon which had animated Morgan and
the Buccaneers of old, and enabled them to succeed in their desperate
enterprises. If a thing must be done, or should be done, never
calculate consequences. If a thing is not urgent, then balance the
probable consequences against the value of the desired result. That has
been my way through life, gentlemen. I have never undertaken anything
unless I wished to succeed and had secured the necessary means; and then
I have guarded as best I could against unforeseen circumstances."
This was the sort of way the old gentleman talked. He told the
gentlemen one day that he was not born when the earthquake occurred
during which Port-Royal was swallowed up; but that he had often heard
people speak of it who had witnessed it. It began about noon on the 7th
of June 1692. Nine-tenths of the city and all the wharves sunk at once;
and in two minutes from the commencement of the earthquake several
fathoms of water lay over the spot where the streets had just stood.
Two thousand persons perished. Some, it was said, who were swallowed up
in one place, rose again in another still alive; but that I do not think
possible. Very likely they were washed from one place to another,
clinging to beams or rafters; and not knowing, in their horror and
confusion, where they had been, were picked up and saved. A mountain
toppled over into a river, and, by blocking up the course, a vast number
of fish were taken, which afforded food to many of the nearly starving
inhabitants. Nearly all the vessels in the harbour were lost; but one
ship of war, the _Swan_ frigate, was driven over the tops of the houses
without capsizing. She received but slight damage, and was the means of
saving many lives. Scarcely had the earthquake ceased than a fever
broke out, which carried off numbers of people. What with hurricanes,
plagues, insurrections of the blacks, and attacks from foreign foes,
Jamaica had an uneasy time of it; and it proves her unbounded resources
that, in spite of all drawbacks, she has continued wealthy and
flourishing.
The old gentleman said a great deal more about Jamaica, but this was the
substance, I know, of his remarks. That there was something mysterious
about the old man was very evident. The captain, I thought, stood
somewhat in awe of him, and in his absence never even alluded to him.
The rest of the passengers, however, indulged in all sorts of suspicions
about him, though they never expressed them, except among themselves.
They spoke freely enough before me, for they fancied, I believe, that I
did not understand them. I was one day beginning to tell Peter what I
had been hearing. "Jack," said he, "I have a piece of advice to give
you, which you'll find useful through life. Never go and repeat what
you hear about anybody. It's done by people through idleness sometimes,
and often through ill-nature, or with a downright evil intention; but
whatever is the cause, it's a contemptible propensity, and is certain to
lead to harm." I promised that I would follow this advice, and I did
so.
Though we had light winds, the strong current which set in from east to
west across the Caribbean Sea helped us along, and enabled us to reach
Jamaica about seven days after we left Saint Kitt's. After coasting
along some way, we cast anchor in Port-Royal Harbour, about five miles
from Kingston. There were from two to three hundred sail of craft of
all sizes brought up in the harbour.
Scarcely had we dropped our anchor, when the wind, which had before been
very light, fell completely. I saw the old gentleman come on deck, and
look round earnestly on every side, and then up at the sky. He then
went to the captain, and took him aside.
"I tell you it will be down upon us before very long," I heard him say.
"House your topmasts, and range your cables, and have every anchor
you've got ready for letting go."
The captain seemed to expostulate: "Not another craft seems to be
expecting danger."
"Never mind what other crafts are doing," was the answer. "Take the
warning of a man who has known these seas from his earliest days, and do
you be prepared. If they are lost, it is no reason that you should be
lost with them."
The captain at last yielded to the advice of the old gentleman. The
topmasts were struck and every particle of top hamper was got down on
deck. The cables were all ranged, and two other anchors were carried
out ahead, while full scope was given to the best bower which we had
down. The old gentleman went about the deck seeing that everything was
done properly. Had we not, indeed, been well-manned the work could not
have been accomplished at all. Oh, how hot and sultry it was! I had
never before felt anything like it. The pitch bubbled and boiled out of
the seams on the deck, and the very birds sought shelter far away in
some secluded spot.
"Why has the ship been gut into this condition?" I asked of Peter.
"Because they think a hurricane is coming, Jack. If there is, we have
just got into harbour in time. I don't see any signs of it myself,
except the wind dropping so suddenly; but I suppose the officers know
best."
I told him that the old gentleman had persuaded the captain to prepare
for whatever was coming.
"Ah! he knows, depend on't, Jack," said Peter. "I can't tell what it
is, but there is something curious about that old man. He knows a great
deal about these parts." Such was the opinion all forward had formed of
the stranger.
When the wind fell the sea became like a sheet of glass. A feather
could not have moved over it. It became hotter and closer than ever,
and we were glad to get anywhere out of the sun, stifling even as the
heat was below. Even the old hands, who were inclined to laugh at the
newcomers' complaints of the heat, confessed that they would rather have
it cooler. The rest of the vessels in the harbour, with few exceptions,
had not hitherto been prepared to meet any unusual tempest but lay as if
their crews were totally regardless of any signs of a change. A few,
however, had followed our example by striking their topmasts and getting
out fresh anchors.
Some of the passengers, meantime, were very anxious to go on shore; but
the stranger urged them to remain on board, and assured them that before
they could be half-way there the hurricane would be upon them. Two of
them, however, were incredulous. The boat of a merchantman lying not
far from us, was just then passing with her master in her.
"Ah! I know Captain Williams well. If he is bound for Kingston, he
will give us a passage!" exclaimed one of the gentlemen; and he hailed
the boat. She came alongside, and refusing all warning, they, taking
their portmanteaus, got into her.
"We'll take any message for anyone," they sung out jokingly as they
shoved off. "The storm you are afraid of will blow over, depend on it."
"Fools are wise in their own conceit," muttered the old gentleman, as he
turned on his heel. I remember, even now, the sound of their laughter
as they pulled away up the harbour.
The heat continued to increase, though a thick reddish haze overspread
the sky; but as yet not a vapour floated in it. Suddenly, as if by
magic, from all quarters came hurrying up dark lowering clouds, covering
the whole concave of heaven, a lurid light only gleaming out from near
the horizon. Then, amidst the most terrific roars of thunder, the
brightest flashes of lightning, and the rushing, rattling, crashing
sound of the tempest, there burst upon us a wind, which made the ship
reel like a drunken man, and sent the white foam, torn off the surface
of the harbour, flying over the deck in sheets, which drenched us
through and through. In an instant, the surrounding waters were lashed
into the wildest foaming billows. The vessels pitched fearfully into
the seas, and began, one after the other, to drag their anchors. Some
broke adrift altogether, and were hurled along till they were cast
helplessly on the shore; and fortunate were any of the crew who could
scramble clear of the hungry waves which rolled after them up the beach.
Some of the smaller craft pitched heavily a few times, and then
apparently the sea rushed over them, and down they went to rise no more.
I was holding on all the time to the fore-rigging with hands and feet,
fearing lest I should be blown away, and expecting every moment to see
our turn come next to be driven on shore. We were, however, exposed to
a danger on which I had not calculated: the vessels breaking adrift, or
dragging their anchors, might be driven against us, when we and they
would probably have been cast on shore or sunk together. On land,
wherever we could see, a terrific scene of confusion and destruction was
taking place; tall trees bent and broke like willow wands, some were
torn up by their roots, and huge boughs were lifted high in the air and
carried along like autumn leaves; houses as well as huts were cast down,
and their roofs were carried bodily off through the air. I doubted
whether I would rather be afloat or on shore, unless I could have got
into a deep cave, out of the way of the falling walls, and trees, and
roofs. All this time every one was on deck,--the officers and crew at
their stations, ready to try and avert any danger which might threaten
us. With a steady gale we might have cut or slipped and run out to sea;
but in a hurricane the wind might have shifted round before we were
clear of the land, and sent the ship bodily on shore.
While all hands were thus on the look-out, a boat, bottom uppermost, was
seen drifting down near us amidst the foaming waters. One man was
clinging to the keel. He looked imploringly towards us, and seemed to
be shrieking for aid. No assistance could we give him. I could
distinguish his countenance: it was that of one of the passengers who
had just before persisted in leaving the ship! His companion, and the
master and crew, where were they? He, poor wretch, was borne by us, and
must have perished among the breakers at the mouth of the harbour. We
had not much time to think of him, for we soon had to look to our own
safety. A large ship, some way inside of us, was seen to break adrift,
and soon after came driving down towards us. Being twice our size, she
might speedily have sunk us. Mr Gale and Peter were at the helm to try
and sheer the brig clear of her as she approached us. This, however,
was not easily effected when there was but a slight current. Down came
the ship! "Stand by with your axes, my lads, to cut her clear if she
touches us!" shouted the captain. The ship was still some way off, and
before she reached us, a schooner broke from her anchorage just ahead of
us and drove towards us.
The poor fellows on board stood ready to leap on our deck had she
touched us; but she just grazed by, her main-rigging for an instant
catching in ours. A few strokes of an axe cut her clear, and before any
of her crew could reach us she was driven onward. In another instant
the wind catching her side, she turned completely over. There was a
wild shriek of despair from her hapless crew. For a few moments they
struggled desperately for life; but the wind and the waves quickly drove
those off who had clung to the driving hulk, and soon not a trace of
them or her could we perceive.
While this was occurring the old man stood unmoved near the helm,
watching the approaching ship. "Arm your people with axes, Captain
Helfrich, you'll want them," said he quietly. His advice was followed.
The ship came driving down on us on the starboard bow. It appeared that
if she struck us she must sink us at the moment. Our helm was put to
starboard, and by sheering a little to the other side, we escaped the
dreaded blow. At that instant she turned round, and her main-yard got
foul of our after-rigging. This brought our sides together, and she
hung dragging on us. Instantly all hands flew to cut her adrift, for
already we had begun to drag our anchors. If we escaped sinking at
once, there was certain prospect of both of us being cast on shore.
Some of her crew endeavoured to get on board the _Rainbow_; but at the
moment they were making the attempt, down came our mainmast, crushing
several of our people beneath it. I saw the captain fall, and I thought
he was killed. The first mate was much hurt. Still the ship hung to
us, grinding away at our side and quarter, and destroying our bulwark
and boats. The foremast, it was evident, would soon follow the
mainmast, when the stranger wielding a glittering axe, sprung, with the
agility of a young man, towards the stays and other ropes which held
them, and one after the other severed them. His example was followed by
Mr Gale and the crew, and in a shorter time than it has taken to
describe the scene, we were freed from our huge destroyer. She went
away to leeward, and very soon met her fate.
Still the hurricane raged on. We were not safe, for other vessels might
drive against us. However, our next work was to clear the wreck. No
one was more active in this than the stranger. At first we thought that
the captain was dead; but the news spread that, though much injured, he
was still alive. Almost blinded by the spray and rain and vivid
lightning, the crew worked on. At length the storm ceased almost as
suddenly as it had begun; but words cannot describe the scenes of
destruction which were presented to our eyes on every side, wrecks
strewed the shore, and the plantations inland seemed but masses of ruin.
Night at last came, and the ship was made snug. When I went on deck
early in the morning, I looked about for the stranger. Neither he nor
his black attendant, nor his chests and boat were to be found. Yet it
was declared that no one had seen them leave the ship! This
unaccountable disappearance made all hands wonder still more who the
mysterious stranger could be. Such was my first introduction to the
West Indies.